Couple killed in Glenrothes crash 'went flying into the air'

Grandparents Harry and Shirley Taggerty were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash

A police officer has told a court of the "traumatic" moment he saw a car mount a pavement and strike a couple who went "flying into the air".

Grandparents Harry and Shirley Taggerty were pronounced dead shortly after the crash in Glenrothes on 13 July 2019.

PC Joseph Archer was driving a van with a colleague when he noticed a car on the opposite side of the A911 "veer" onto his carriageway.

Liam McWatt denies a charge of causing their death by driving dangerously.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard on Tuesday that the couple fell down an embankment at the side of the road following the collision.

Police officers found the car which struck them lying overturned nearby.

PC Archer, 57, said: "I could see the car away up ahead of us starting to veer into our carriageway.

"I could see the car was moving quite fast. It came right up on a pavement. It knocked down two pedestrians who were walking up that pavement.

"The pedestrians went flying into the air into a tree bush area and the car went into the air and flipped over."

Paramedic assistance

PC Archer told the court that that he went to the husband and wife, age 61 and 58, to assess their condition.

He told the court: "I found no signs of life."

The police officer told the court that an off-duty paramedic had come to assist and he asked him for help.

PC Archer said: "I said can we do anything and he said no there isn't."

He told the court that he then went over to the overturned car and found a man inside "sitting on the roof".

The police officer told the court: "I asked him his name. He said his name was Liam. I asked him if he was in the car himself. He said he was.

"He was speaking fine to me. He maybe had a mark on his cheek. He was speaking away fine. He said he was going on holiday and he was asking where his phone was."

PC Archer said he later helped Liam up a path to an ambulance which was called for him and was waiting on the road side.

He said the incident was "very tragic and very traumatic".

The jury also heard that Mr McWatt provided a "negative" breath specimen and that "no defects were found" on his vehicle which "could cause or contribute" to the collision.

The Crown claims that he drove while using a mobile phone, drove at excessive speed and entered the opposing carriageway while it was "unsafe to do."

The trial, before judge Lord Scott, continues.